The Sun. — London, England, 1838-06-28 00:00:00

CORONATION ANECDOTES. f.Rbridged from a little work entitled "Chapters on Coronations.] IN the age of the Plantagenets and Tudors, :and under the Stuarts, until the coronation of James 11., it was customary for the kings to reside in the Tower of London for some time' previous to the coronation. On the Saturday before the coronation the sovereign went from Westminster to the Tower of London, at tended by great numbers of the nobility and civic dignitaries, and by those squires that were to be knighted, and who watched their arms that night. Each squire had a chamber allotted him, and a bath in which he bathed. 'The ensuing day after mass the sovereign created them knights. After their investiture they were permitted to sit down in the king's presence, but during the whole time of dinner they were not allowed to partake of any part of the entertainment. The queens in their own right, Mary and Elizabeth, though they girded the swords on the knights with their own hands, did not give the accolade or blow, which is the determinate action that impresses the character of knighthood. At both coro nations, Henry earl of Arundel performed this office. A copy of his appointment is to be found in Rymer. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. After William had taken the coron:lati oath, to protect the church, prohibit oppr -ion, and execute judgment in mercy, Aldr ,•ut the question, "Will ye have this prin obe your king ?" The people answered wi oud shouts, and the noise gave so inuch,alar o the Norman garrison in the • city, that t oldiers, believing the English to have revolte ithout waiting to make any investigation, i ediately set the next houses on fire, preading and giving a general alarm, most e congregation rushed out of the church, th nglish hastening to stop the fire, and th ormans to plunder. The bishops, clerg d monks, who remained within the churc ere in such confusion, that they were scare •le to go through the office of crowning th ng ; William himself, who saw the tumul d could not conjecture its cause, sate tre ing at the foot of the altar, and, though n eat mischief was done by the fire, it laid iundation of a long and inveterate en tween the English and the Normans. WILLIAM 11., RUFUS William IL laid claim to the crown by virtue of a form of election ; the nobles believ ing that he would be less inclined to control their usurped privileges than his elder brother, Robert. He was crowned at Westminster, September 27, 1087, by Lanfranc archbishop of Canterbury, and the archbishop of York. Besides swearing to observe justice, equity, and mercy in all his conduct, and to maintain the peace, liberties, and privileges of the church, he promised that he would follow the arch- bishop's councils in his administrations. HENRY I. The coronation of Henry I. was performed in a hurried manner, on the fourth day after the death of Rufus. In every respect the forms of his coronation were the same as those of the Saxon kings. • STEPHEN. The coronation of Stephen, after he had sworn allegiance to the empress Matilda, was viewed with great anxiety in an age when it was supposed that the punishment of perjury was immediate and visible. The ceremony was performed by William archbishop of, Canterbury, and it is said that a dreadful, storm arose, which threw all the parties into such confusion, that the consecrated water fell on the ground, the kiss of peace after the sacrament was omitted, and uven the final benediction forgotten. HENRY 11. Henry was crowned at Westminster on the Sunday before Christmas-day, A.D. 1154, by Theobald archbishop of Canterbury: although his hereditary right was unquestionable, he was formally elected by the clergy and people. It is said that Henry was crowned again with his queen, A.D. 1159 ; but this report arose from his having worn the crown during the ceremony. RICHARD I. reparations for his co ronat i on , came ondon, where he asse m bl e d t h e arc hbi s h o f Canterbury, Rouen, and Tou rs , w h o h 'yen him absolution i n N orman d y for wadi ar against his fathe r a f ter h e h a d ta k en t oss as a crusader. Fi rs t, t h e arc hbi s h op, ishops, abbots, and cl erg y, wear i ng t h e uare caps, and preced e d b y t h e cross an oly water bearers and d eacons b urn i ng i n nse, went to the door o f t h e roya l b e amber, and led th e d u k e i n so l emn pr ssion to the g r eat a lt ar i n t h e c h urc Westminster. Whe n th e y reac h e d t h altar, Richard swore, in the presence of th clergy and people on the holy Gospel and th sacred relics, that he would observe peac honour, and respect, all the days of his life to God, holy church, and its ordinances. His attendants then stripped him to his trousers and shirt, the latter of which was left open between the shoulders on account of the anointing. Baldwin archbishop of Canterbury, who wor ' rich buskins of cloth of gold, then anointe the king in three places, on the head, betwee the shoulders, and on the right arm. A con secrated linen coif and a cap of estate wer then placed upon his head, and he was veste with the royal robes, the dalmatic, and t tunic ; the archbishop then delivered hi sword, to restrain the enemies of the churc . Two earls then buckled on his spurs, and in vested him with the pall of state. After which Baldwin conjured him in the name of God, and forbade him to take the crown, unless he were firmly resolved in his heart and soul to observe all the promises to which he had sworn. The festivities were sullied by a sanguinary and disgraceful riot. Numbers of Jew.: had Hocked to England in the reign of Henry 11., where they were honouiably protected by that liberal and enlightened sovereign. Grateful for such unusual favours, they assembled at London to subscribe among themselves, in , “ - ' l A** 'n make Richard a splendid present on -I.tion. Unfortunately the bigots ous Christian ; thissignal roused the fanaticism of the multitude : a general assault was made upon the Jews, who fled in confusion towards the city. Some wretches, eager for plunder, raised a cry that the king had given orders for !the extermination of the unbelieving Jews ; and, as this was by no means improbable, when the king was a crusader, it received im plicit credit. The city mob, swelled by the multitudes who had come from the country attacked the houses of the J ews , w hi c h the i habitants defended with great courage an d ,o stinacy. The e nrage d popu l ace, w h en nig came on, finding that th e y cou ld not b rea k i nt the houses, hurled brands and torches on th roofs and through the xVindows. Conflagr tions burst Thrth in various parts of the cit 'which consumed not only the houses of the ews, but those of the Christians :adjoining. Richard caused several of the ringleaders and ost notorious malefactors to be apprehended e next day ; they were hanged as a terror to l others, a proclamation was issued taking the ijews under the royal protection, and the tran kluillity of the city was restored. JOHN. f John ascended the th rone , t o th e pre j u di ce the hereditary rights of his ne ph ew A rt h ur, y virtue of a form of el ec ti on . Th e arch ishops, bishops, earls, ba rons , an d ot h er t h e states of the realm, being assembled in the urch of Westminster, May 27th, 1191 ) ,‘ Cante r b ur y übert archbishop of addresse em in these memorabl e wor d s . Hear all men ! It is well known to your isdom, that no man h a th any r i g h t o f succes ; on to this crown, unl ess h e b e e l ecte d for his', n merits by the una n i mous consent o f t h e ingdom, with in voca ti on o f t h e H o l y Ghost ; after the manner and similitude of Saul, whom God set over his chosen people, though he was neither the son cf a king, nor sprung of a royal line ; and in like manner after Mai, David, the son of Jesse : the former because he was brave, and suited to the royal dignity, he lat ter because he was humble and pious. So that he who surpasses all within the realm in fitness for royalty should preside over all in dignity and power.- But if any one of the family of the deceased sovereign should excel others, his election should be the more readily and cheerfully conceded. Wherefore, as o late sovereign Richard died without issue his body, and as his brother, earl John, now present, is wise, brave, and manifestly noble, we„ having respect both to his merits and his. royal blood, unanimously and with one accord elect him to be our sovereign." This was the most decisive form of election since the Conquest. 1 - IEIVRY 111. After the death of John, London being in possession of the French prince Louis, an assembly of the principal authorities was con vened at Winchester, under the presidency of Gualo, the papal legate. They unanimously' resolved that the young king should be crown ed on the 28th of October, A.D. 1216. The ceremony was performed in the cathedral of Winchester. The papal legate compelled Henry to do homage to the holy Roman church and Pope Innocent for his kingdom of England and Ireland ;—he also made him swear that he would pay an annual tribute of one thousand marks to the papal see. The ceremony of coronation was repeated by Ste phen Langton archbishop of Canterbury. Early in the year 1236 Henry married the lady Eleanor, daughter to the earl of Pro vence, whose beauty is celebrated by all the chroniclers. The ceremony of her coronation was per formed with extraordinary pomp on the 22nd of January. Hohnshed's account of it will no doubt gratify our readers : . "At the solemnitie of this feast and corona tion of the quene, all the high peeres of the realm both spirituall and temporall were pre sent, there to exercise their offices as to them, apperteined. The citizens of L on d on were 'there in great arraie, bearing afore hir in so lemn wise three hundred and three score cups of gold and silver, in token that they ought to wait upon hir cup. Archbishop of Canter buric (according to his dutie) crowned hir, the bishop of LOndon assisting him as his deacon. The citizens of London served out wine to everie one in great plentie. The feast was plentiful!, so that nothing wanted that could be wished. Moreover in Tothill-fields roiall justes were holden by the space of eight daies together." EDWARD I. On the 15th of August, 1274, Edward I and his queen Eleanor were crowned at Westminster by the Archbishop of Canter• bury, aided by other prelates. Holinshed adds some remarkable particu lars of this coronation : "At this coronation were present, Alexan der king of Scots, and John earle of Bretaine, with their wives that were sisters to King Edward. The king of Scots did homage unto King Edward for the realme of Scotland, in like manner as other the kings of Scotland before him had doone to other kings of Eng land, ancestoures to this King Edward. At the solemnitie of this coronation there were let go at libertie (catch them that catch might) five hundred great horsses by the king of Scots, the earles of Cornewall, Glocester, Pembroke, Warren, and others as they were allighted fro th e i r backs." EDWARD H. Edward 11. and his queen were crowned at Westminster on the 24th February. Holin shed informs us, " There was such presse and throng at this coronation, that a knight, called Sir John Bakewell, was thrust or crowded to death." The bishops also were incommoded, and forced to hurry through the service in a slovenly manner; and yet it was not concluded before three in the afternoon. EDWARD 111. On the deposition of Edward 11., his son, prince Edward, was brought to a general as sembly of the nobles and clergy in the abbey church of Westminster, on the Both of Janu ary, 1327, and Walter Raynold exhorted all present to choose the young prince for their, sovereign. All assented; but the prince him-, self declared that he would not accept the, crown until it had been voluntarily resigned' by his father. A remarkable coronation medal was struck )n this occasion : on one side the young prince vas represented crowned, laying his sceptre heap of hearts, with the motto " Pofizzlo 'vra volenti" (He gives laws to a willing and on the other was a hand held, a falling crown, with the motto, - 'hit." (He sei• not, but kRD 11. tis king was more mag the preceding. The procession of the king from the Tower to Westminster, on the day preceding the coro nation, is thus described by Holinshed ' The citie was adorned in all sorts most richlie. The water-conduits ran with wine for the space of three hours together. In the upper end of Cheape was a certain castell , made with foure towers ; out of the which cas ' tell, on two sides of it, ran forth wine abun dantly. In the towers were placed foure beau tiful virgins, of stature and age like to the I - king, apparelled in white vestures, in every tower one, the which blew in the king's face, at his approaching neere to. them, leaves of gold ; and as he approched al so , th ey t h rew on him and his horsse counterfeit florens of gold. When he was come befsre the castell they Cooke cups of gold, and, filling them with wine at tie spouts of the castell, presented the same to the. king and to his nobles. On the top of the castell, betwixt the foure towers, stood a golden angell, holding a crowne in his hands, which was so contrived, that when the king came he bowed downe; and offered to him the crowne. In the midst of the king's pallace was a marble pillar, raised hollow upon steps, on the top whereof was a great gilt eagle placed, under whose feet in the chapiter of the pillar divers kinds of wine .came gushing forth at foure several places all the dale long, neither was anie forbidden to receive the same, were he never- so poor or abiest.* THE SUN, LONDON, JUNE 28, 1838. HENRY IV. •1 - Henry IV. was crowned by archbishop Fitz alan on the 13th of October, 1399, and on this 'occasion the ampulla was first employed. After Henry had gone to the Tower he created forty-six knights of the Bath, among whom were three of his own sons. The procession from the Tower to Westminster was unusually splendid, no less than six thousand horses having been employed on the occasion. Froissart gives the following account of Henry IV.'s procession. " The duke of Lan caster left the Tower this Sunday after dinner, on his return to Westminster ; he was bare headed, and had round his neck the order of the king of France. The prince of Wales, six dukes, six earls, eighteen baro ns , accom panied him, a n d iere were of knights and other nobility from eight tonine hundred horses in the procession. He passed through the streets of London, which were all handsomely decorated with tapestries and other rich hang ings there were nine fountains in Cheapside and other streets he passed through, that ran perpetually with white and red wines. The whole cavalcade amounted to six thousand horse that escorted the duke from the Tower to Westminster." HENRY V. , Henry V. was crowned on the 9th of April, ; 1413. Katherine of France, the queen of `Henry V., was crowned on the 24th of Fe truary, 1420 ; the account with Holinshed igives of the magnificence displayed upon this occasion is far too characteristic of the age to 1a e omitted. " After the great sole mn i zat i on f the aforesaid coronation in the church o f S t. eter's, at Westminster, was ended, th e queene as conveied into the great Hall of \Vest inster, and there set to dinner. Up on w h ose ght hand sat, at the end of th e t a bl e, t h e chbishop of Canterbury, and H enr i e sur med the Rich, cardinall of Winchester. pon the left hand of the queene sat the kin ! . of Scots in his estate, who was served wit vered messe, as were the foresaid bishops, t yet after them. Upon the left hand, nex • the cupboord, sat the maior and his bre ren, the aldermen of London. The bishop gan the table, against the barons of th:: inque Ports ; and th e l a di es against th;., maior. These, with othe rs , or d ere d t h e ser vice ; and, for the first co urse , b rawne in mus-' tard, eeles in burneur, pik e i n h er b age, f u i ment with balien, lamprie po w d ere d, trout, co dli ng, plaice fried martine fried, crabs, leech lum bard flourished tartes, and a devise called a, pellican, sitting on hir nest with hir birds, and an image of St. Katharine holding a booke, and disputing with doctors. "The second course was, gellie coloured with columbine flowers, white potage or creame of almonds, breame of the sea, conger, cheuen, barbill and roch, fresh salmon, halibut, gur nard, rochet broiled, smelts fried, crevis or lobster, leech-damaske, with the king's poesie flourished thereon. "The third course was, dates in compost, creame motle, carpe deore, turbut, tench, pearch with goion, fresh sturgion with welks, porperous rosted, crevesse de eau doure, pranis, eeles rosted with lamprie, a leech, called the white leech, flourished with hawthorn leaves and red haves ; a marchpane garnished with diverse figures of angels." HENRY VI. Henry VI. was crowned at Westmin s t er , Nov. 6th, 1429, being then only in the ninth year of his age. The coronation feast was celebrated at Westminster with great splen dour. In the first course, Fabian tells us, there were, among other royal viands, " Bore hedes in castellys of gold and enarmed," "Cus tard royal], with a lyopard of golde syttyng therein, and holding a floure de lyce." The pageant for this course was, "A sotyltie of Seynt Edwarde and Seynt Lowys armed, and upon eyther his cote armoure, holdyng atwene them a figure lyke unto Kynge Henry, stand ynge also in his cote armoure, and a scripture passynge from them both, saying-e,—‘ Beholde II perfyght kynges under one cote armoure.' " EDWARD IV. The monarch had his title confirmed by the forms of a popular election. Immediately after his victory over Henry VI. he came to London, and returned thanks to God at St. Paul's church. He was then conducted in solemn procession to Westminster, and placed on the King's Bench, in the Hall, which was filled with people.. It was then demanded of the commons whether they .would accept this prince t be their sovereign ; to which a ll assented. He was crowne by archbishop Bouchier, June 29th, 1461. EDWARD V. Preparations were made for the coronation of Edward V., but the barons and commons refused to accept any of the late King's sons as their sovereign, and tendered the crown to Richard duke of Gloucester. RICHARD 111. Richard 111. and his queen, Anne, daugh , ter to the Earl of Warwick, were crowned on the sth of July, 1483, " with the self same provision," says Grafton, "that was appointed for the coronation of his nephew." The king and queen received the sacrament from the hands of the cardinal archbishop of Canter- 1 bury, and one host, or conservative wafer, w divided between them. nib 15FF,e 7 •~ ~~ tiY' ~~. _ _ ~.. HENRY VII. Henry VII. was crowned October 3oth, 1485, and his queen, Elizabeth, October 3oth, 1487. The latter was remarkable for the procession by water from the palace of Green wich to the Tower, instead of from West minster, as was usual. The queen was escorted by the lord mayor, sheriffs, and the heads of the different companies in their state barges, richly ornamented with silken pennons and streamers, and also with the banners of the different trades, on which their arms were em broidered in gold. One of these barges, called the bachelors' barge, contained an extraor dinary pageant, an enormous red dragon which spouted streams of fire into the Thames. When the queen rode through the city on the following day, choirs of children dressed as angels were stationed in different places, who sang hymns and songs as she passed by. HENRY VIII. , Henry VIII. was extremely fond of pa , geantry, and he was.,particularly anxious about the ceremonials of his coronation. - The Londoners seconded his desires, and when, after having created twenty-four knights of the Bath, he rode through London from the Tower, June 22, 1509, the streets [ were hung with tapestry and cloth of arras, , , and a great part of the south side of Cheap • and part of Cornhill were hung with cloth of gold. The several companies and civic dignitaries lined the streets ; and Hall tells us, " The goldsmiths' stalls unto the end of the Old Change, being replenished with virgins in white, with branches of white wax ; Ithe priestes and clearkes in rich copes, with crosses and censers of silver, censing his grace and the queene also as they passed. The queene Katherine was sitting in hir litter, borne by two white palfries, the litter covered and richlie apparelled, and the palfries trapped in white cloth of gold ; hir person apparelled ' in white satin embroidered, her haire hanging downe to her backe, beautiful' and goodlie to behold, and on her hea,d a coronall set with manie rich orient stones." The coronation was celebrated with brilliant " justs and turneies," which the king and queen witnessed from "a faire house covered with tapestrie." EDWARD VI. Edward VI. was crowned February loth, 546. "He rode th roug h L on d on i nto West inster," says Holi ns h ea d , " w i t h as great ialtie as might be, th e streets b e i ng hung, nd pageants in di vers p l aces erected, to estifie the good willes o f t h e c i tizens. . . . • • . . . . As he passed on th e sout h art of Paule's ch urc h yar d , an Argos i ne me from the battle men t s o f P au l e ' s c h urch pon a cable, bein g ma d e f ast to an anchor the deane's gate, liei ng on hi s b reast , a i d i ng imselfe neither with hand nor foot, and after ascended to the middest of the cable, where he tumbled and plaied many prettie toies, whereat the king and the nobles had good pastime." At this coronation, when the three swords,. for the three kingdoms, were brought to be carried before him, the king observed, that there was yet one wanting, and called for the BIBLE. "That," said he, is the sword of the spirit, and ought in all right to govern us, who use these for the people's safety, by God's appointment. Without that sword we are _nothi,i2g :we can do nothing From that we are what we are this day . . . we receive whatsoever it is that we at this present do assume. Under that we ought to live, to fight, to govern the people, and to perform all our affairs. From that alone we obtain all power, virtue, grace, salvation, and whatsoever we have of divine strength." QUEEN MARY. Mary, the first female sovereign of this realm, was crowned on the Ist of October, 1553, by Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Win chester, the archbishops of York and Canter / bury being then prisoners in the Tower. On r the last day of September she went in state 'from the Tower to Westminster in an open chariot, drawn by six horses, covered with cloth of tissue. In a second chariot came the princess Elizabeth and the lady Anne of Cleves ; the ladies in waiting rode upon horses covered with trappings of crimson vel vet and satin. Three pageants were erected in Fenchurch-street by the Genoese, Easter ling, and Florentine merchants. Kmong the city pageants, the most remark able was that of St. Paul's cathedral, thus de scribed by Holinshead :—" There was one Peter, a Dutchman, that stood on the weather cock of Paule's steeple, holding a streamer in his hand of five yards long, and waiving there of, stood sometimes on the one foot and shooke the other, and then kneeled on his knees, to the great marvell of all people. He had made two scaffolds under him, one about the crosse, having torches and streamers set on it, and another over the ball of the crosse, like wise set with streamers and torches, which could not burn, the wind was so great. The said Peter had sixteen pounds, thirteene shil lings, four pense for his costes, and paines, and all his stuffe." The conduits ran with" wine, and, when the civic authorities received the queen at Cheape, the chamberlain presented her with a purse of tissue containing a thousand marks in gold. ELIZABETH. Speed's account of the procession of queen Elizabeth contains some particulars too re markable to be omitted. "All things in rea dinesse, upon the fourteenth of January, with great triumphes and sumptuous shewes, shee passed thorow London, towards Westminster, to receive her imperial! crowne ; but before shee entered her chariot in the Tower, acknow ledging that the seat was God's into which shee was to enter, and shee his vicegerent to wield the English sceptre ; in that royall as sembly, with eyes and hands elevated to heaven, upon her knees, she prayed for his assistance, as Solomon did for wisedome when he tooke the like charge ; with a thankful! re membrance unto God for his continued pre servation, who had brought her thorow great dangers unto that present dignitie." She was crowned the 25th of January, 1555, by Oglethorp bishop of Carlisle, the see of Canterbury being vacant by the death of Car dinal Pole. Holinshead says that she com posed the following prayer as she went to her coronation : " 0 Lord Almightie and Everlasting God, I give thee most heartie thanks that thou hast beene so mercifull into me, as to spare me to behold this ioifull daie. And I acknowledge that thou hast delt as wonderfullie, and as mercifullie with me, as thou didst with thy true and faithfull servant Daniell, thy prophet, whome thou deliveredst out the den from the eltie of the greedy and roaring lions. Even so was I overwhelmed, and only by thee de livered. To thee, therefore, onelie be thanks, honor, and praise, for ever. Amen." ,JAMES I The ceremonial for the coronation of James I, was prepared Lader the superintendence of that monarch, and displays many marks of the pedantry and extravagant notions of the royal prerogative, which form so large a portion of his character. He created two earls, ten barons, sixty-two knights of the Bath, and conferred the honour of knighthood on about four hundred gentlemen. CHARLES I. The coronation of Charles I. was delayed ntil the sth of Feb ruary , 1 6 2 6 , i n conse uence of the plagu e , w hi c h t h en re i gned i n ondon. The princip a l nove l ty was t h e in roduction of the following clause in one of the rayers : " Let him obtain favour for thy people, like Aaron in the tabernacle, Elisha in the waters, Zacharias in the temple. Giye him Peter's key of discipline and Paul's doe- tfine." In the year 1633 Charles I. went to be crowned king of Scotland at Edinburgh. He was received with great splendour, and seve ral pageants were prepared to honour his re ception. The most singular was a triumphal arch, under which a mountain was raised in the form of a theatre, upon which sat a nymph, representing the Genius of the city of Edin burgh. "Shoe was attired in a sea-greene velvet mantle ; her sleeves and under roabe of blew tissue, with blew buskins on her feete ; about her necke shee wore a chaines of dia monds, the dressing of her head repreSented a castle with turrets, her locks dangled upon her shoulders." She was attended by Re- I ligion, "all in white taffeta, with a blew mantle seeded with starres, and a crown of stones on I her head, to shew from whence she is," lean ing upon a shield, and trampling beneath her feet Superstition, represented as a blind old woman, covered with rags. On the left hand stood Justice, in "a red damaske mantle," trampling upon Oppression, represented as "a person of fierce aspect; in armes, but broken all and scattered." CHARLES n. Charles 11., having been invited to Scot land by the Presbyterians, was crowned at Scone, January I, 1651. On this occasion a most extraordinary sermon was preached by "Master Robert Dowglas, minister at Edin burgh, moderator of the General Assembly, from 2 Kings xi. verses 12-17.'' The preacher delivered a fierce philippic against the young king's father and mother, the latter of whom he compared to the wicked Athaliah. When the ceremony was concluded, " the I 'minister spoke to him a word of exhortation ; that is to say, a long oration, scarcely less offensive than the sermon. JAMES 11. James's coronation, April 23, 1685, was celebrated with so much splendour, that it ren dered him for a considerable time popular in London. The most remarkable anecdote con nected with the solemnity is, that, on the king's return from the Abbey, the crown tottered upon his head, and would have fallen off, had not the Honourable Henry Sidney supported it, saying, "This is not the first time our fa- mily have supported the crown." WILLIAM AND MARY. For the first time in England both the king and the queen were crowned as sovereigns. The ceremonial was very stately and cold ; it took place on the 1 ith of April, 1689, the bishop of London officiating instead of the archbishop of Canterbury (Sancroft), who scrupled to place the crown upon the head of sovereigns who claimed it by a parliamentary title, and not by hereditary descent, and what he called divine right. ANNE. Anne was crowned April 23, 1702 ; her husband, prince George of Denmark, was present, but took no prominent part in the ce remony. The queen gave the kiss of peace to the archbishop and the other prelates ; but, when the temporal peers did their homage, they only seemingly kissed her majesty's left cheek. As parliament was sitting, galleries were provided for members of the House of Commons, both in the Hall and the Abbey, and a sumptuous dinner was prepared for them in the Exchequer Chamber GEORGE I. George I. was crowned at Westminster, October 20, 1714, with the usual solemnities. I The king did not understand English, and few of those around him could speak German, so that the ceremonies had to be explained to his majesty in such Latin as those near him could command ; this gave rise to the popular jest, that much bad language had passed be tween the king and his ministers on the day of the coronation. GEORGE 11. George 11. and queen Caroline were crown ed October 11, 1727, with the usual solemni ties, but nothing occurred to give any variety or interest to the scene. GEORGE 111. George 111. and queen Charlotte were crowned the 22nd of September, 1761. In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1764, p. 28, is an extract from a letter addressed to the duke of Devonshire, which contains the following singular anecdote :--`` The young Pretender himself was in Westminster Hall during the coronation, and in town two or three days before and after it, under the name of Mr. Brown. A gentleman told me so, who! saw him there, and who whispered in his ear, Your royal highness is the last of all mortals whom I should expect to see he: - e.'.--` It wwl curiosity that led me,' said the other : but I assure you,' added he, that the person who is the cause of all this pomp and magnificence is the man I envy the least ! ' " When the champion cast down his gauntlet for the last time, a white glove fell fro.n one of the spectators, who was in an elevated si tuation ; on its being handed to the champion, he demanded, " Who was his far foe ?" The glove was said to have been thrown by the young chevalier, who was present in female attire. GEORGE IV. The coronation of George IV., which topic place on July 19, 1821, was the most splendid ever celebrated in England. A special act of parliament was passed to, enable the Duke of Norfolk, who was a Ro man Catholic, to perform the functions of earl marshal on he day of the coronation. He N also, as premier peer of England, returne d thanks for the sovereign when the king's health was toasted by the peers. During the coronation feast the king at;' knowledged the different services performed according to ancient usage very graciously save only when the cup of wine was presente' t by the lord mayor and citizens of London' His majesty treated these gentlemen witt marked coolness, and did not acknowledge their service by any salutation. The account of this coronation given by Sit Walter Scott is so graphic and lively, that we t think it will gratify our readers to insert ao, abridgement of it. "The effect of the scene in the Abbey w [ beyond measure magnificent. The altar stn , • rounded by the fathers of the church--tll I king encircled by t h e no bi l i ty of the land a.i 1 • councillors of his throne, and by warrior) Wearing the honoured marks of distinctit, bought by many a glorious danger—add 4 0' this, the rich spectacle of the aisles crowd . . / with with waving plumage, and coronets, an..l, caps of honour, and the sun, 'Which brighten- • and saddened as if on purpose, now bearry - If4' in full lustre on the rich and varied assembly. 1 and now darting a solitary ray, which catch H as it passed, the glittering folds of a banner 1 or the edge of a group of battle-axes or pa , zans, and then rested full on some fair for')' `the cynosure of neighbouring eyes,' wh circle of diamonds glistened under its infl '• ence. Imagine all this, and then tell me ii I have made my journey of four hundred n - i." - ' to little purpose. le " The box assigned to the foreign n ^ a. r e r c i sadors presented a most brilliant e- ,f-Ctered- was perfectly in a blaze with diamonthr the sunshine lighted on Prince Estse,,dd w i t h particular, he glimmered like a gale is so honest Persian was also a remarkab! h " e on by from the dogged and inpenetrable . ries— with which he l oo k e d on t h e w h o t e oratel without ever mo v i ng a li m b or a muscly n the space of four hours. Like Sir Wilful Wit woud, I cannot find that your Persian is ortho dox ; for, if he scorned everything else, there was a Mabometan paradise extended on his right hand along the seats which were occu pied 'by the peeresses and their daughters, which the Prophet himself might have lookecl on with emotion." But, in truth, the only interesting spectacle, connected with thi s f east was t h e c h a ll en ge of the champion, which is now not only unineart !. ling but illegal ; for it is directly contrary t ( , ) ; the statute aboli s hi ng wager o f b att l e i n a" cases whatsoever. WILLIAM IV. The arrangements for the coronation of Wiliiam IV. and Queen Adelaide were a I compromise between economy and parade- The procession from the Hall to the Abbey , and the coronation feast in the Hall, wer e omitted. The popular enthusiasm was greater , however, than on any former occasion. Th e ; new entrance to St. James's Park was opened for the first time, and in the evening the me' tropolis was universally illuminated. The very lanes and alleys tenanted by the poor classes were lighted, to testify the loyal affection of. even the humblest for the sailor king." VALUE OF THE CROWN JEWELS. /The ruby-in the crown of state is valued a t ` 16,000/., and the aqua yzarine2; -- Which form the mound, is still more precious. When th. notorious Colo ne l Bl oo d h a d near l y succ eeded-, in stealing the crown from the Tower, the rub) fell in the struggle, and was no t recovere d fori several clays, when it was picked up by a poor old woman who was sweeping a crossing The values of the other jewels have not beers ascertained, with the exception of those in the crown worn by the queen consort on her IT' tnrn to Westminster Hall, which have been estimated as follows : Twenty diamonds round the circle, £r,500 each ~ 430,0 Q, Two large ce n t re di amon d s, £ 2,000 eac h .. 4,°‘' Fifty-four smaller diamonds placed at the angles of the former ... Four crosses, each composed of 25 diamonds... Four large diamonds on the tops of the crosses ... Twelve diamonds contained in the fleur delis Eighteen smaller diamonds contained in the same ... Pearls, diamonds, &c., on the arches an d crosses ... One hundred an d forty-one diamonds on the mound Twenty.six diamonds on the upper cross Tvvo circles of pearls about the rim IC C 4 0,• 000 0, 0 ' • a c• c" 3 300' Lxil,9 , ' 1j T~; - 11 ' I CORONATION ROBES. The ancient coronation robes which werL' destroyed in 1649, do not appear to have been very valuable, if we may judge from the enu meration given of them by the parliamentarY commissioners, from which we have before quoted. In their report we find the follow ing " Inventory of the Regalia, now in West minster Abbey, in an iron chest," where theY were formerly kept. .4 S. d. o x 0 -,r 0 I 0 4"' One common taffaty robe, very old, valued at One robe laced with gould lace, valued at ... One silver cullered silk robe, very old, and worth nothing One robe of crimson taffaty sarcenet, valued at .. One paire of buskins, cloth of silver and silver & stockings, very old, and valued at One paire of shoes of cloth of gold at ... 0 2 One paire of gloves, embroidered with gould, at .., o r Three swords with scabbards of cloth of gould, at 3 0 One old comb of home, worth nothing ... o o °' o 0 °' o 5 ° Totall in the chest ... 44 w 6 The comb, which is here dismissed so con temptuously, was supposed to have belonged to Edward the Confessor, and was used in the ancient forms of coronation, to smooth the king's hair previous to the anointing. KINGS-AT-ARMS. The dresses of the kings-at-arms, heralds, and pursuivants, add considerable splendour to the ceremonial of a coronation. The kings at-arms wear tabards, or surcoats of velvet, and cloth of gold, on which the royal insignia are emblazoned ; these tabards resemble sleeveless gowns in form, but they are fur nished with wings, which fold over the arms. They wear also collars of SS, that is, composed of links shaped like the letter S, made of silver gilt, with badges a t th e cen t re , conta i n i ng t h e shamrock, rose, and thistle, enamelled in their proper colours. They are also entitled to wear coronets, or plain circles of gold, deco rated with sixteen upright leaves, eight of which are long, and eight short. So import ant was the office of king-at-arms anciently held, that a solemn ceremony was appoirted for their inauguration. In fact, it was the mimicry of a royal coronation, except that ;he unction was performed with wine insteai 0 1 oil. In Scotland, Sir David Lindesay was crowned Lyon king-of-arms by his soverdgn with the ancient crown which the mona-ch wore before they assumed a close crown, A.P. 1592. Loindon; Printed and Published by REMROSE & SONS, of Old Bailey, London, E.C.; and Derby.